All About Pocket Knives

I don't even think I've had my Chinese made Colonial Quick Flick tactical knife for a year yet, and a screw already backed out of the handle and disappeared. I don't even think I carried or used the knife that much--not more than maybe 20 times. My grandfather had two old US made Colonials from the '60s or '70s which he gave me, and despite lots of cosmetic wear and tear caused by the both of us over those many decades, both still are in good shape. I don't care how much extra US or European made knives cost, they are made way better than this.


Back when I was a little kid most of my early knives were under $10 Chinese made knives. They weren't quite worth even bringing home. They had flimsy metal, and a lot of defects. I've got two knives (one a Frost Steel Warrior) that came with pitting on the blades. They might be cheap, but that's all they've got going for them. My grandfather purchased a cheap $10 Chinese made Groundwork (Tractor Supply house brand) machete for brush cutting and it took forever to get a usable edge on that thing!

I hate that many American manufacturers have moved overseas. Imperial, Colonial, Camillus, and many other US made greats now produce their products overseas, and the quality just isn't the same.


If I want a knife I can easily afford, I just go to Ebay or the local flea market and pick up a used American or European made knife for $5 (sometimes much less!) to $20. Those knives are very well made, and despite being old and already well used, but I know I can rely on those knives for a lifetime still. In fact, I just picked up a 1970-80s Camilius TL-29 from Ebay for $15, and it might be the most well-made knife I own! That knife is now my go-to everyday carry.

I do the same, I'm carrying a US Boker-made John Primble I got on the bay right now, and I am always looking for old usable US-made knives at swaps, yard sales and online. However, I think the Chinese knives you remember as a kid have improved over recent years. A lot of quality issues have been addressed by the US companies who own the brand names by tightening down on the quality control they demand from the manufacturers. A modern Steel Warrior comes with 440C steel which is Rockwell tested 56-58, I defy anyone to find ANY US-made knife, old or new, that equals that for under $20; not to mention all-bone handles at that price. Another brand with high quality control is Rough Rider, and nowadays you seldom see a substandard knife from them. I also don't know of ANY online retailers selling these knives new for a Jackson, (including the bay), who don't offer a 100% guarantee, so on the odd chance you get a bad one, you are usually covered for that.
Remember, even premier US manufacturers, those still in business at least, order and sell certain of their current line of knives from those very same Chinese manufacturers, so those factories have learned how to achieve US-equivalent quality in their products. Don't dismiss the Chinese, they learn fast, and even the lesser expensive Chinese knives have improved in quality. The cheaper, (in quality), knives nowadays are coming out of places like Pakistan, and even those are improving as US customers demand the quality they are used to.
When I was a kid cheap knives were US made. Companies like Imperial, Colonial, & others produced affordable knives for the US mass market, and many of those were cheap with a capital "C", not even as good as some later cheap imports, so the entire argument is relative.
A knife is a tool, and a good tool is a good tool no matter where it was made. I have as many good Chinese tools as US-made tools; it's all relative.
Now, that being said, IT IS a modern tragedy that most US knife manufacturing has moved offshore. It's a sign of the times, and cutlery isn't the only industry effected. US-based conglomerate corporate toadies and politicians did that to us, we should blame them, not Chinese-made knife users. Those who complain about the very existence of Chinese-made knives, and condemn the people who use them are usually doing so while watching Chinese-made televisions, with Indonesian-made cell phones in their pockets, while driving their Japanese-made cars to the grocery stores to buy Argentinian-grown vegetables or Brazilian-raised beef.

So, indeed, they ARE NOT made the same any more!

Yep they don't make them like they used too but some are still made just as good as ever.!